sunshine_librarian Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Disclaimer: I know that ultrasounds are notorious for being inaccurate when estimating weight of babies. However, if a baby is measuring significantly ahead earlier in pregnancy, around 29 weeks, are these measurements any more accurate? I am currently expecting my 4th dc. At a level 2 diagnostic ultrasound at the perinatologist this week I was told not only were the baby's measurements a couple of weeks ahead, but that the weight is a about a month ahead, or roughly twice what it would "normally" be about now. I've had pretty big babies, but I haven't generally had ultrasounds this far along in pregnancy, so I can't gauge their estimate by my previous experience. I don't have GD, in fact my blood results came in particularly low. Also, I know my dates are correct because I conceived on my first cycle after a miscarriage. I had been wondering if I was having twins, and I am not...But my husband is now joking that I have been feeling that way because this one baby is the size of 2. Anywho, I guess my real question is: how significant is it to have a baby measure big at this stage? Thanks a bunch, Sunshine_Librarian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinaBreece Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Disclaimer: I know that ultrasounds are notorious for being inaccurate when estimating weight of babies. However, if a baby is measuring significantly ahead earlier in pregnancy, around 29 weeks, are these measurements any more accurate? I am currently expecting my 4th dc. At a level 2 diagnostic ultrasound at the perinatologist this week I was told not only were the baby's measurements a couple of weeks ahead, but that the weight is a about a month ahead, or roughly twice what it would "normally" be about now. I've had pretty big babies, but I haven't generally had ultrasounds this far along in pregnancy, so I can't gauge their estimate by my previous experience. I don't have GD, in fact my blood results came in particularly low. Also, I know my dates are correct because I conceived on my first cycle after a miscarriage. I had been wondering if I was having twins, and I am not...But my husband is now joking that I have been feeling that way because this one baby is the size of 2. Anywho, I guess my real question is: how significant is it to have a baby measure big at this stage? Thanks a bunch, Sunshine_Librarian I wouldn't worry too much about it now. My doctors insisted that both of my DC were consistently measuring ahead on ultrasounds (and I was high risk, so I got a lot of them)--- they warned me to anticipate 10 pound babies. DS was 5 lbs 8 oz, and DD was 5 lbs, 12 oz. At 37 & 38 weeks respectively, so they weren't even officially considered early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrogMom5 Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 My dd measured bigger for her gestational age. The Perinatologist and the OB disagreed on how far along I was. Still, they were only a week or two apart. You said the baby is measuring a month ahead? Could you have conceived and then had a period? Sometimes this happens and makes a woman think she conceived later than she actually did. How big were your other babies? Fwiw, my 1st was 9lbs. 14 oz. at 36 weeks. Dd was 9 lbs., 3 oz. at 35 weeks. Maybe you're just having a really big baby. As long as you and the baby are doing well, maybe it's ok. What does your doctor say? Denise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker25 Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 From about 28 weeks on my high risk ultra sounds were measuring a week or two ahead. So much so that my OB was swearing my baby was going to be between 8 and 9 pounds. Lily came a week early at 7 pounds 1 oz. (they even rounded up to get to the 1oz) I thought my OB was going to fall of his stool. LOL I had a HUGE placenta. That's the only thing they could think made her measure so big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 My middle DS had kidney reflux, so I had ultrasounds constantly with him. I remember that the weight estimates jumped around wildly. I was there (at the perinatologist) every week, and one week he'd tell me gravely how huge the baby was going to be. The next week he would have forgotten me altogether and comment that the baby was right on track, size-wise. This was for probably the last 2 or 2 1/2 months of the pregnancy, so a little later than 29 weeks, but not by much. Right before he was born, he told me that he weighed 8 pounds, 15 ounces, give or take 25 ounces. I was like, "umm, yeah, I pretty much could have told you he was going to weigh between 7 1/2 and 10 pounds...without having an ultrasound." He was, for the record, 9 pounds, 6 ounces, and my fastest labor. So I vote "not very significant" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine_librarian Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 I see my midwife next week. At my original dating ultrasound at 20 weeks everything lined up date-wise just fine. My dd1 was 8lbs. 4 oz. at 40+3, my ds1 was 8lbs. 12 oz at 41+3, and my ds2 was 9lbs. at 40+3. So above average, but not huge. And I am sure I didn't conceive and then have bleeding, since as I mentioned before, I actually miscarried and then conceived on the next cycle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine_librarian Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 Thanks for the replies and experiences. I think my biggest concern was the thought of a significantly larger baby coming when I already have a history of precipitous births. The combination of them getting bigger and coming faster has just led to more stitches :glare:. Yeesh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LifeLovePassion Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 IIRC only early U/S are accurate for measuring (like before 12 weeks) because then there is more variance per technician. The position of the baby could be causing them to protrude more too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aelwydd Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Ultrasounds are considered pretty reliable early on in pregnancy, and up to around 30 weeks. It's late in pregnancy that they can have a positive or negative error margin of up to 2 lbs. However, measurements, especially if they have been done consistently since early pregnancy, are considered quite reliable. If you are measuring ahead a few weeks, that's not usually a huge cause for concern. But, if you are measuring ahead consistently, and by a large margin, then most OBs and midwives will want to take a closer look to rule out anything serious. Ultrasounds AND measurements showing a bigger measurement, so long as you are sure your dates are accurate, would be viewed as credible evidence that the baby is likely bigger than average. But again, you would generally have a consistent pattern of measuring ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetBean Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 I had the opposite experience. My DS1 was measuring small for gestation, which was a huge surprise to me. My DD1 was large, and I felt like DS1 was even larger. Even so, they told me that he wasn't growing. I was on partial bedrest, and they told me to lie only on my left side. That was pretty much the second 20 weeks of the pregnancy. DS had been threatening to come early, but ended up being full term. At that point the OB told me not to worry, DS might have been as big as 7 lbs. He was 9lbs 2 oz, and 22 inches long. I have no clue how they could be so far off. DD1 arrived 4.5 weeks early at 6lbs 6oz. The midwife guessed that she was about 6 1/2 lbs, based on the height of my fundus, and my height. She was far more accurate than the ultrasound. DD ended up being 9lbs. 10oz. on her due date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cortana Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 With my younger son, they kept telling me to expect a huge baby, between 9 and 10 lbs. I wasn't sure when I had conceived as we weren't officially trying and I didn't expect to get pg so quickly (went through infertility with our oldest, our second was conceived the month after I stopped taking the pill), but the OB refused to consider that I might be farther along than he thought. I started going into labor 8 weeks before I was due and they started to panic, put me on bedrest and medication. 5 weeks of that plus mulitiple trips in and out of L&D and my body was going to have the baby whether they liked it or not so they let me go ahead and have him. He was 7lbs, 14 oz. OB's response: well, I guess maybe you were farther along than we thought. ;) He also said he could have probably let me have the baby sooner and he would've been okay. On another note, a friend of mine was being told that her baby was going to be huge according to measurements. The OB was so worried that she induced my friend at 37weeks and told her to be prepared for an enourmous baby (estimated baby would be around 9.5 lbs). Imagine the OB's suprise when the baby barely weighed 7 lbs. I had figured all along that he was smaller than they were figuring, in fact I guessed his weight right on the button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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